


No More Time for Regrets

by st_mick



Series: Niffler [56]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Torchwood
Genre: Everyone else is too traumatized to be suspicious, First Kiss, Healers are handy, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sneaky Nifflers are Sneaky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-13 00:23:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21485296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st_mick/pseuds/st_mick
Summary: Ianto is pretty banged up, but he is able to summon Draco and Luna to help heal him, at least a bit, before Owen looks him over properly.  The team heads back to the hub to get cleaned up, checked out, and debriefed.If that makes Ianto giggle, we'll just blame the painkillers.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Series: Niffler [56]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1276304
Comments: 34
Kudos: 52





	No More Time for Regrets

“Thank you for finding them in time, Jack,” Ianto whispered into Jack’s neck. “I tried to buy you enough time, so you could find them. So you could save them.”

Jack held the younger man as gently as he could and frowned, wondering why Ianto was saying “them” instead of “us”.

Ianto’s breath caught, and he pulled back again. “They need you inside, Sir. I’ll go find the SUV, and…”

“Like hell you will,” Jack snarled, grabbing Ianto by his forearms. “You need to take it easy, Ianto. I’ve seen your injuries.”

“Which look far worse than they actually are. Jack, who else can do it? Gwen is babysitting that poor kid, and you need to watch over Owen and Toshiko while they take care of the… perpetrators.” He looked at Jack. “Sir, I can’t sit or even lie down. I need to keep moving until we can leave. _Please_.”

It was the desperation in Ianto’s face more than anything that convinced Jack to let him go. “Fine. But you’re not going alone. Toshiko!” He called out as he headed back into the house. “Go with Ianto to find the SUV.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, but it was Owen who protested. “Jack, he needs to…”

“Keep moving, until we can get him someplace he can actually rest,” Jack interrupted.

Owen frowned, then nodded. “Tosh, get him to drink some water, will you?”

***

As they walked, Tosh reached out and took Ianto’s arm, to hold him steady. He tried not to lean on her too heavily as they walked, but it was difficult. Everything just hurt, _so much_. After a while, he looked at her uncertainly. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you enough time to get away, properly.”

Tosh looked startled. “Ianto, it wasn’t your fault he caught me again!”

“I should have found a way to stall him, for longer.”

“Ianto, stop that. You saved us all. You gave Jack a chance to find us. You willingly put yourself in danger, and put yourself through hell, to buy us time.”

Ianto shrugged, then winced at the movement. “You were right. We’re here to protect. _I’m_ here to protect. I lost sight of that for a moment, in the cellar. I… hope you don’t think too badly of me, for it.”

Tosh gasped. She stopped walking, forcing him to stop, as well. “I don’t, Ianto. I promise. You remembered, and then you went _so far _above and beyond.”

Ianto’s mind seemed to be jumping from thought to thought. “He bloody licked me! Why did he do that, Tosh?” He shuddered.

“He was trying to rattle you, Ianto. Nothing else was working.” She grinned. “You completely freaked them out, you know, with the cursing, and…” she cut her eyes at him. “You took that beating like…” She sniffed. “Ianto, it was like you’ve been… tortured… before.”

Ianto shrugged and winced again. “Learned how to take a punch, early on.”

Now Tosh winced.

“Can you do me a favor?” Ianto coughed, then stopped to breathe through the pain. He spotted the SUV in the distance and pointed to it.

“What?”

“When he debriefs you, please tell Jack that it was my choice. Don’t let him take that from me by blaming himself. Please.”

Tosh smiled sadly. “I will.”

He returned her smile, wincing at the pain of his bruises and where the gag had dug into the skin around his mouth. “Thanks.”

They walked in silence to the SUV. It was unlocked, with the keys still in the ignition. “Basic security protocols,” Ianto huffed. “Bloody incompetent cannibals.”

Tosh sniggered as she opened the boot and found two bottles of water. Ianto stayed on his feet and leaned his hands against the back panel of the SUV, his head resting against the cool window for several minutes as Toshiko encouraged him to drink.

Ianto’s body was on fire, and he knew there would be no way for him to sit, lie, or lean (other than against his hands) that would not be excruciating. As it was, the ride back to the rest of the team was agony. By the time Tosh parked, he was sweating profusely and panting for breath. She went to find Owen to see if he could give Ianto more pain meds as he made his way over to a low wall and vomited.

He was still leaning over the wall and heaving when Owen and Jack found him, a few moments later. Owen gave him another shot and Jack led him back towards the SUV, helping him into a pair of track pants and a t-shirt stored in the boot. It was a relief not to be completely naked beneath Jack’s coat.

There was a time and place for everything, and this was decidedly _neither_.

Jack left him leaning against the back quarter panel of the SUV with some water sitting on the tailgate, to drink. Alone again, Ianto found his mobile where he’d left it in one of the back compartments (no point in carrying it if there was no signal, after all). He took a picture of an out-of-the-way spot and, using the SUV, he sent the picture to Luna and Draco, along with a message that was far more coherent, in his mind.

_Canbulls in Brynblaidd. No to worry, Jack snot thm. But not bfore they tired to tenrise me. Pleas come before Owen gets me to hub and sens me to hosptal. Hid wher pic til amlance arrive. Maybe pertend be ems? Sorrry to boter. Hurrts…_

If the spelling and poor grammar didn’t have them concerned, the admission that he was hurt did. Ianto _never_ admitted to being in pain. And his texts were always complete, precise, proofread sentences.

Luna and Draco apparated to Brynblaidd just as the Heddlu arrived a quarter hour later, ambulances following closely behind. The wizard and witch quickly disguised themselves and made their clothes look like EMS uniforms.

Jack met them all and commanded the police to follow him, and all but two of the paramedics. “You – see to my Admin,” he commanded, pointing to where Ianto was stood leaning into his hands, against a tree.

“We’ve got him,” Draco waved the others away. He and Luna rushed over to Ianto. “Merlin, Nif. What happened?”

“Cannibals,” Ianto hissed, standing straight and realizing that his body was stiffening up, even though he was standing. “Tenderized…” he coughed, then spat blood.

Neither of them touched him as they led him to the furthest ambulance. Luna cast a spell so they would not be seen, and everyone would assume they were in the ambulance. She and Draco helped him out of Jack’s greatcoat.

“Don’t try to see what happened, Luna,” Ianto shored up his occlumency shielding. “I don’t want this in your head.”

“Then tell us what happened,” she said, “or I _will_ find out.”

Ianto quickly told them everything. Draco began diagnostic incantations and began cursing as he saw the results. “Nif, you have to let us take you to St. Mungo’s,” he pleaded. “I won’t be able to…”

“I know there’s internal damage,” Ianto interrupted. “Heal that, back the concussion down to moderate, and heal any breaks. And maybe see if there’s a way to heal me enough that I can sit and lie down. You can leave the rest.”

Draco bit back his protests and pulled a series of potions out of his bag, handing them to Luna to make Ianto drink. “I see your muggle doctor gave you some alien concoction, for pain.”

“It’s really not helping, yet,” Ianto admitted.

Draco gave Luna a pointed look. The next potion he handed Ianto was for pain. It was not as strong as what Owen had administered, but it would take effect immediately.

It took more than an hour to get Ianto sorted. Draco was able to heal all of the bones – and there were quite a few, despite the cannibals’ efforts to not break any. Two cracked ribs, a hairline fracture along his left femur, another crack along his cheekbone. The potions took care of the internal damage, though a course would be needed to fully heal it.

“Not as bad as taking your magic back in, but still,” Draco muttered. “Your doctor’s scanners will show bruising to some of your organs, but nothing he’ll try to do anything about. I healed the hematomas to your kidneys and also the internal bleeding. Here,” he handed Ianto one last potion. “This will help with the dehydration, and help rebuild your blood supply.”

The problem was, Owen knew what a bone bruise looked like. He’d checked out Ianto closely enough that he knew the ribs were bruised and that Ianto had a moderate to severe concussion. These were things that they could not fix too much, now.

“Your concussion is now on the low end of moderate,” Draco continued. “And you have subcutaneous, intramuscular, and periosteal bruising… pretty much everywhere. I’m healing as much of the periosteal bruising to your ribs as I can without raising any suspicion, and all of the damage to your spine. I’m also healing the intramuscular bruising to your back, buttocks, and the backs of your thighs. The subcutaneous bruising will stay, so it will still look like hell, but you should be able to sit or lie down without too much discomfort.”

“Thank you,” Ianto reached out to hug Draco, surprising him. He wrapped his arms around Ianto, sensing his friend needed comfort. He held him until Luna stepped in and pulled him close. He held onto her tightly, making it impossible for her to button the coat back around him.

No one knew for certain when the tears started, but he was holding back sobs (mostly because it hurt too much). “All I could think was that if I had my wand, no one would have to die. But I didn’t,” he spat bitterly, “so I chose to be the one who would die, to try to save them.”

“Nif,” Luna sobbed, pulling him close, only to loosen her hold when he hissed in pain.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ianto stood away from her, wiping his face and buttoning the coat, once more composed. “Any way to get the smell of blood from the coat, but keep Jack’s scent?”

Draco’s eyebrows shot to his hairline, and Luna blinked, but recovered quickly. She waved her wand, and the coat wafted around Ianto as though caught in a breeze. When it settled, it no longer smelled like the abattoir, but it still smelled like Jack.

Ianto caught Draco’s expression. “It calms me,” he said, shrugging again. Then he made a face. “I would kill for a shower, right about now.”

“Well, you look a bit better, and the potion for shock seems to be working well,” Draco did more diagnostics, then sighed. “This is as much as I can do, without the muggles catching on. Here.” He handed Ianto another potion. “I’ll put a case of water in your flat, and a salve for your wrists and the corners of your mouth in your medicine cabinet. Doesn’t look like you’ll need it for your ankles, but I’ll be sure there’s enough, just in case.”

“I’m pretty sure Jack isn’t going to leave any of us alone. Can you take Cerridwen for a few days?” he asked Luna.

“Of course.”

“And can you bring some dreamless sleep potion?” Ianto asked Draco. “Please?”

“You’re going to become immune to it,” Draco said, frowning.

“Body parts in the fridge,” Ianto said, his voice flat. “Sent me into a flashback to the conversion room with body parts strewn all over the floor. I’m pretty sure my nightmares will now be having nightmares.” He huffed. “At least the Cybermen weren’t eating people.”

Luna embraced him again, and Draco relented. “I’ll give you some, but we really need to limit it. More than once every two weeks is not recommended. More than once a week and it will eventually stop working.”

“However often you see fit,” Ianto pleaded. “I’ll take whatever I can get, Draco.”

Now it was Draco who pulled Ianto into an embrace. “I’m sorry you’ve seen so much, Nif,” he whispered. “Of course. I’ll bring you a potion as often as we can determine you can take it, without becoming immune. And I’ll bring some calming potions, as well.”

“Thank you,” Ianto lay his head on his friend’s shoulder and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he backed away. “I’m sorry. I’m filthy, and I stink.”

“We don’t care,” Luna hugged him again. “But we should go, so we can get the potion to your flat and grab your owl before Jack takes you home.”

As if on cue, “Ianto!” Jack called out.

His friends left him sitting in the ambulance. Jack came around the back and smiled when he saw him. “There you are.”

“Here I am,” Ianto rasped, taking a sip of water.

Jack looked more closely at Ianto. “You look a lot better.”

“Pain meds’re finally kicking in.”

Jack took a sip from the bottle he was carrying. “Sun’s up.”

“So it is,” Ianto replied.

Jack sighed. “Ianto, I…”

“Sir, I would take it as a personal favor,” Ianto interrupted, “after the night I’ve had, if you would defer whatever you’re about to say until after you have debriefed Toshiko. Please, Sir.” Pleading eyes found Jack’s surprised ones. “Please, Jack.”

Jack stared at Ianto for a long moment before he relented. “Okay. Discussion tabled. For now.” He sighed and reached out, grasping Ianto’s upper arm. “I’m glad you’re safe, Ianto.”

“…Me too.”

Jack noticed the slightest hesitation, but he clung to the statement that followed it. He looked around, again. “We’re just about wrapped up, here. Police have taken everyone’s statements, but yours. I can put them off if you’re not feeling up to it.”

“Might as well,” Ianto rose slowly. Jack reached out to steady him. “It’ll give me something to do while you lot finish up.”

Ianto gave the detective a clear, concise statement that was far more coherent than anyone would have expected, from the battered look of him. Owen stood close by, ready to call it off if it looked like it was getting to be too much for the Tea Boy. But Ianto was calm and composed and finished his statement more quickly than any of the others had.

“I think he’s in shock, and when this hits him, it’s not going to be pretty,” Owen told Jack.

“Well, he’s not going to let himself fall apart here. He’s going to wait until he has some privacy, and feels safe.”

Owen hesitated. “I don’t think any of the team should be alone in the next twenty-four hours or so. And I don’t think a slumber party at the hub will help, this time.”

Jack nodded. “I may have an idea.”

The drive back to the hub was uneventful. Jack drove almost sedately, mindful of all of the sore and aching bodies that would not appreciate being jarred or jolted.

When they got to the hub, Jack told the others to go shower and change, and he debriefed Owen, first. As they were finishing, Jack called Owen back from the door. “What was that you were saying about pain tolerance?”

Owen looked thoughtful. “Some people seem to be inured to pain. So they just… suck it up, and get on with it.”

“And you think Ianto is one of those people?”

Owen nodded slowly. “Jack, I usually only see this type of response in soldiers and those who have been tortured.”

Jack nodded slowly. “What about abuse?”

Owen shrugged. “That could explain it,” he didn’t add that he doubted that to be the case. Given Ianto’s reticence, it would likely remain a mystery. “Whatever the explanation, he has an exceptionally high tolerance to pain.”

Owen examined Gwen while Jack had a very eye-opening debriefing with Toshiko. Next he interviewed Gwen while Owen examined Tosh. Then he realized he hadn’t seen Ianto since he’d sent him off to the showers, almost an hour before. He went looking, and when he found Ianto, the sight of the battered younger man almost broke his heart.

Ianto was standing under the hot water, leaning against his hands that were braced against the wall in order that no part of his battered body was touching anything. His forehead was pressed against the wall, as well. Jack wondered if perhaps he had fallen asleep, but Ianto didn’t jump when Jack softly called his name.

“Hey,” he said, leaning against the wall. “You’re going to use up all the hot water.”

“You forget I’ve seen the boiler, Sir,” Ianto quietly answered. “And the alien tech that passes for a hot water heater.”

Jack chuckled. “You need help?”

Ianto didn’t want to answer, but the need to be clean soon outweighed the need to do it himself. “I… I could use some help, with my hair. And maybe my back. ‘m having trouble lifting my arms.”

Jack kicked himself for not realizing Ianto would need help. He quickly disrobed and joined Ianto in the shower. He gently washed Ianto’s hair, being sure that all of the dried blood was rinsed away before taking a heavily soaped flannel and gently washing away the grime of the abattoir, and the cellar, and the rest of the awful day.

Once he was done with the back of Ianto’s body, he turned him around. Realizing that the younger man’s efforts had not yielded very good results, even where he could reach, Jack rinsed the flannel, added more soap, and gave Ianto a thorough washing.

“I’m sorry to be a bother,” Ianto muttered, though the gratitude shining in his eyes overrode the guilt Jack saw there. “Thank you, Jack.”

“You’re not a bother, Ianto. And you’re welcome.” Jack turned him under the shower head and helped him rinse off. He turned the water off and grabbed a few towels. “Let’s get you dried off and dressed. Owen wants to look you over.”

Jack tucked a towel around his own waist and another around Ianto’s. He wrapped a third around Ianto’s shoulders. The younger man surprised him by wrapping his arms around Jack’s waist and laying his head on his shoulder.

“Missed you,” he whispered.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Jack replied quietly, gathering Ianto close, savoring the contact.

They stood quietly for some minutes before Ianto pulled back and looked at Jack for a long beat before leaning in and kissing him softly. There was no hesitation, no contemplation of what was about to happen, just a very matter of fact movement that caught Jack off his guard, though he recovered quickly enough to gently return the attention being given him.

Knowing that Ianto’s mouth likely hurt a great deal, he allowed the younger man to dictate the terms of the exchange, but within a half-second of realizing what was happening, Jack found that the entirety of his attention had become keenly focused on the molten heat of their shared breath. He noticed a myriad of things, in that moment; the softness of Ianto’s lips, despite being slightly chapped from dehydration and blood loss. The gentleness of his mouth, sliding tenderly along Jack’s. The taste of mint, evidence of having brushed his teeth before showering. The feeling of his hands, which had settled decisively at Jack’s waist.

That damnable spark they seemed to share, flashing and flaring everywhere they touched.

The restraint (hard fought, judging by the steadily increasing pressure of Ianto’s hands gripping Jack) of not deepening the kiss, though the desire for more could be discerned from the number of times the kiss ended, only to begin again.

It was a soft, sweet kiss – pure, but by no means chaste. Ianto’s mouth stayed temptingly open, and Jack noted the restraint again and again, each time he felt the soft brush of Ianto’s tongue, seeming to merely taste before drawing back again. This was not the time for exploration, so the kiss never deepened. But neither of them was willing for it to end.

The simplicity of the kiss belied its intensity. Despite his injuries, Ianto was entirely focused on the kiss. On Jack. And it was glorious. It was splendid. It was perfection. Jack burned for more, but now was not the time. Feeling Ianto sigh, he leaned back. “Ianto?”

Ianto looked at Jack, his expression inscrutable. Though honestly that could have been the drugs. He had satisfied his curiosity on one matter but had ignited a dozen new avenues of inquiry, all in one fell swoop. That kiss had been… wow. His mind was buzzing with the new information gathered. New knowledge – of himself, of Jack, of _them_. He wanted more – and for the first time in a very long time, he felt confident that his body would eventually catch up with his mind.

Just not today.

He gave a crooked smile, even though it hurt. “Sorry. I just… in case I succumb to my injuries, I didn’t want to keep regretting not letting you kiss me."

A small smile graced Jack’s lips. “I thought you weren’t injured that badly.”

Ianto leaned back in and pressed his eyes against the crook of Jack’s neck. “Not willing to chance it.”

“So this is what Ianto Jones thinks about, when his life is in danger?” He smirked. “Kissing me?”

Ianto made a movement that may have been an attempt at a shrug. “It was that or whether the one called Elis was going to end up with me knackers in a jar on his bureau.”

Jack closed his eyes, frowning. Ianto’s tone of voice was light, but Jack could tell he meant what he was saying. Ianto had believed that he was going to die, and that he would likely be carved up in disconcerting and unsavory ways.

Ianto continued speaking. “So I decided to think about you, instead.” He sighed. “So many regrets.”

“Like not kissing me?” Jack smiled again.

Ianto nodded.

“So…” Jack hesitated, but decided to keep speaking. “Is whatever was bothering you still… bothering you?”

Ianto’s newfound confidence evaporated. He nodded again. “It’s the mother of all deal-breakers.”

“And which of us would be walking away from this deal-breaker?”

“You,” Ianto tightened his grip on Jack, then sighed again. “But even so, ’m sorry I avoided you.”

“It’s all right. But you seem awfully sure I’d walk away.” Jack was fairly confident Ianto had this wrong, especially if this was what Jack suspected. He began using the towel to gently pat Ianto dry. “We can talk about it after you’ve rested, if you’d like. We just need to get you checked out and debriefed, and I may have a favor to ask.”

Ianto giggled, breaking the moment. “Not wearing any.”

Jack was startled for a moment by the uncharacteristic giggle, but then he chuckled, glad to realize that the pain meds were apparently still working. “Believe it or not, I did notice that.”

“I do still have those GU-297a forms, Sir.”

“Then we’d better get you dressed, so you don’t have to make me fill them out,” Jack gently led Ianto to the lockers.

“The girls are having tea on the couch,” Owen announced as he strode in. He winced as he realized too late that Ianto had needed help getting cleaned up. “Jack, how about you finish your shower while I look over the Tea Boy. Then I can get cleaned up while you debrief him.” He gave Ianto a concerned look when the younger man giggled again.

“It took the painkillers ages to kick in, but I think they finally have,” Jack grinned. He grabbed clean track pants, t-shirt, socks and trainers from Ianto’s locker, along with a hooded, zippered sweatshirt and handed them to Owen. “Might be easiest to examine him before he dresses.”

“You okay parading across the hub in just a towel?” Owen asked.

Ianto shrugged, and then winced at the gesture. Perhaps his injuries would break him of the shrugging habit that Luna had started grousing about, of late. “Not like you lot didn’t get an eyeful, already.”

Owen winced. “Well, you can be embarrassed about that later,” he said, then reached out and took Ianto by the elbow to keep him steady as he led the younger man past Tosh and Gwen, whose conversation died down as they caught sight of the spectacular bruising that covered Ianto from shoulder to knee, though the towel did cover some of the middle bits. Toshiko’s eyes welled with tears at the sight of him, but she did not let him hear a reaction.

Once down to the med-bay, Owen poked, prodded, and scanned Ianto before cleaning and re-stitching the cut at his throat.

“I know it doesn’t feel it, but you were lucky, Ianto.” Owen looked up to see Jack leaning against the railing at the top of the stairs. “That walk seemed to help with blood flow, and the shock seems to have dissipated. You don’t have any broken bones. There is some periosteal bruising.” He glanced at Jack. “Those are bone bruises, when they’re at home, and they’re going to smart for quite a few weeks. You’ve got some bruised organs, but nothing serious. Given how he was going at you with that bat,” he grimaced when Ianto flinched.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “But it’s good news. They could have damaged your kidneys beyond repair. And that skull of yours. I’m going to write a paper about it, some day. Moderate concussion, but that crazy bitch could have killed you, with that blow.” Ianto flinched again, and Owen sighed. “Give me a number.”

Ianto shook his head. “Four.”

Owen huffed. “I know I said you could lie to me when we got back to the hub, but just so you know, _I_ was lying. So your choices are, either give me a _good_ number – as in, one I can believe – or I’ll just automatically add two to whatever number you do give me.”

“Fine. You tell me a number, and then help me get dressed, yeah?” Ianto shivered. “I’m cold.”

Owen snorted out a laugh. Of all the things Ianto could be complaining about, that was unexpected. “I’ll print up a pain scale for you. Meantime, we’re going with a six. He prepared an injection for Ianto and gave him the jab, then helped him on with his clothes. He kept the younger man steady and delivered him to Jack’s office, then took himself off to the showers.

***

**Author's Note:**

> This was not how I was expecting their first kiss to go, but Ianto pretty much insisted, so who am I to argue? Poor guy's been through so much, and he just wanted that kiss, damn it. :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!


End file.
